So, anyway, just more reinforcement to put pen-to-paper and gauge how all of that actually looks on a spreadsheet.  

I'm trying to find a way to gauge if an area is over or under priced.

If this is the top of the market and it’s going to bottom out (no one knows), you should put as much down to give you the cushion on the monthly payments and it’ll ease the pressure if the tenant(s) move out due to lack of income. 

If it is a standing seam roof, can you walk on the standing seams without them dimpling (light gauge) and future hassle.  

I told her I definitely was not going to pressure them into making a decision, and would just keep touching base with her to see if anything changed.

Being cash flow negative is going to put a lot of pressure on your cash reserves and income especially as an OOS investor.Why not just go for an apartment building close to home with that much capital available, a commercial loan?

My move-out rehab will include: full exterior pressure washing and repainting, full interior repainting, removal of all carpet (and replace with tile), resodding the backyard, filling about 50 nail holes, re-installing hardwired smoke detectors (they removed all of them), and landscaping.

I would not gauge the real-estate market on a day or two of the stock market gains or losses 

Sometimes you can gauge a seller’s level of motivation by what they say, or don't say, in their message.

For Driving for Dollars: I would get to 100-200 houses and then gauge your response rate.For buying a list: Saw this recommendation from Yellow Letters .com about sending to a list of 2000 and sending to them 4-5 times consistently https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/93/topics/477...Also in that thread, the Open Letter Marketing guys mentioned buying a niche list was the best way to start out (the absentee owner list you mentioned would be pretty broad.